For emerging composers, singers and teachers

The voice is a unique and versatile instrument, one that everyone is naturally equipped with, and yet for many its workings are mysterious. Understanding its strengths, abilities and physicality is essential for anyone interested in writing for singers. Able to convey layers of meaning and intent through delivery of text, it can also function in purely instrumental roles in its dialogue with other instruments. This duality and interplay has been at the core of Halcyon’s repertoire for almost twenty-five years as they have commissioned and presented new works of vocal chamber music.

Stage 1 features presentations by Halcyon’s artistic director Jenny Duck-Chong, composer-educator Elliott Gyger and composer and Art Music Specialist Cameron Lam. Topics include vocal writing from composer and performer perspectives, exploration of contemporary scores and techniques and in-depth discussions on sourcing and working with text.

Perfect for
- those who are curious
- composers who want to learn how to write better for the voice and discover more about what the voice can do
- singers and teachers who want to learn more about recent composition for voice
- anyone wanting to explore the breadth of contemporary vocal writing

Saturday 11-4pm             All About the Voice
Today we focus on the human voice. A guided tour from composer and performer perspectives. Learn about some of the fundamentals of the instrument and its capabilities as well as the diverse ways in which composers engage with the human voice in their work.

Elliott Gyger and Jenny Duck-Chong
VENUE: Online

Sunday 12-4pm                All About Text - Forum, Q&A and live performance
Hear the conversation and join the discussion as we look at the unique element of song - the words that are set to music. How do you find and source them? What do you do with them? In what ways can words and music work in collaboration? Listen to some live examples of new and recent works for solo voice and voice and cello by Aristea Mellos, Gillian Whitehead, Andrew Ford, Gordon Kerry, Nicola Lefanu and Cathy Milliken.

Elliott Gyger, Jenny Duck-Chong, Cameron Lam
VENUE: Online

COST: $30 per day or $50 for the weekend  

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to COVID, attendance for Stage 1 will now ONLY be via online streaming
The live stream sessions will also be available to ticketholders for 30 days after release.

TICKETS now on sale here
Note: Ticket sales close at 9am on Saturday for the weekend/Saturday ticket and 9am on Sunday for the day ticket

For all enquiries contact info@halcyon.org.au

For selected participants only

Stage 2 features hands-on workshops in Sydney with Halcyon’s artistic director Jenny Duck-Chong, bass baritone Andrew O’Connor, cellist James Larsen and composer-mentor Elliott Gyger.  Selected participants will be asked to write two short vocal pieces for mezzo-soprano, bass baritone and/or cello which will undergo workshopping and development across the weekend.  This is a great opportunity to explore and develop material, to work with experienced performers and teachers in a supportive environment and to learn from each other.
NOTE: Attendance at Stage 1 (either in person or via online streaming) is compulsory for all Stage 2 participants.

Saturday 11-5pm            
Sunday 1.30-6pm    
Elliott Gyger, Jenny Duck-Chong, Andrew O’Connor, James Larsen        

COST: $200 for the weekend 

VENUES:
Saturday: Summer Hill Church, 2 Henson St Summer Hill
Sunday: Annandale Creative Arts Centre, 81 Johnston St Annandale

NOTE: We recommend applicants attend Stage 2 in person in Sydney. Applicants will need to arrange travel and accommodation at their own cost to attend workshops.

The applicants for this stage were selected in 2021. They are Victor Arul (WA), Rhys Gray (TAS), Elizabeth Jigalin (NSW), Alisha Redmond (VIC), Kate Reid (NSW). They will be joined by May Lyon (VIC).

Appearing alongside Halcyon’s Artistic Director, mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong are the following practitioners:

STAGE 1 & 2

Renowned composer and educator Elliott Gyger is Associate Professor in Composition at the University of Melbourne and features in both Stages of First Stones.  He was composer-mentor for the inaugural First Stones in 2011 and has written a substantial catalogue of vocal work including two recent chamber operas.  He has composed seven new vocal works for Halcyon, including the 2013 Paul Lowin Award-winning song cycle giving voice, and written the definitive book on the music of Nigel Butterley.  Halcyon has also released a highly regarded album of his music, From the Hungry Waiting Country.    

Composer and artistic director of Kammerklang Cameron Lam  features in Stage 1.  Art Music Specialist for APRA AMCOS and creator of the Australian Art Music playlist he brings both personal and industry perspectives to the conversation.  He is also the composer of The Art of Disappearing, an epic and beautiful song cycle, premiered by Halcyon and Kammerlang in 2019 and recorded by Jenny and the Geist Quartet. 

Cellist James Larsen will perform in Stage 1 and 2. Since completing his formal studies, he has made appearances as a chamber musician and soloist at festivals throughout Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and the U.S.A and is a regular feature in the musical life of Sydney as the cellist of the NOMAD String Quartet (formerly the Ben Adler Quartet).
As a founding member of the Geist String Quartet, James studied under Eberhard Feltz, the Kuss Quartet, and the Elias Quartet. The quartet also premiered and recorded The Art of Disappearing by composer Cameron Lam with Halcyon’s Jenny Duck-Chong. 
A dedicated teacher, James maintains a private studio of enthusiastic young students from across the country. He teaches chamber music and conducts at MLC School in Sydney.

STAGE 2

STAGE 2 COMPOSERS

Victor Arul (WA)

Victor is a composer based in Western Australia. He completed undergraduate studies in the field at the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia, and will soon begin doctoral studies at Harvard University. Victor has written for a variety of groups including the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Perth International Arts Festival, Piñata Percussion, the University of Western Australia’s Symphony and Wind Orchestras, and the University of Melbourne’s Symphony Orchestra. Following First Stones, Victor’s projects include premieres of his works in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Elizabeth Jigalin (NSW)

Elizabeth Jigalin is a composer and performer based in Eora/Sydney on Gadigal land. In her music, Elizabeth is drawn to miniature forms, the everyday, playfulness, collaging and creating ‘music outside the usual order of things’ (often in collaboration with APRA/AMC Art Music Award winning collective, ‘the music box project’ - a group she is the founder of). Elizabeth’s music has been performed on the National Carillon in Canberra, explored in places ranging from the bush to recital halls and premiered at festivals around the world. Additionally, Elizabeth has composed music for a variety of films, animation shorts and composed/performed new soundtracks for over 20 silent films/shorts (often in collaboration with violinist Jane Aubourg) as part of Australia's Silent Film Festival. 

Currently, Elizabeth has an ongoing position as the Composer in Residence for the Voices of Women project - composing music to accompany contemporary stories written by women for live performances and the screen. Other collaborators include Soundstream Collective, Lost in Books, Ensemble Offspring, Sydney Youth Orchestras and Moorambilla Voices. www.elizabethjigalin.net

May Lyon (VIC)

Composing in the leafy outer east of Melbourne, Lyon's music explores a range of themes, from deep human emotions, representations of nature to mathematical concepts, as well as the lighter side of life. Stylistically eclectic, Lyon's compositions move from dramatic and intense, to quirky. Narrative, precision, duality, and rhythm are strong recurring elements. Lyon (1979) is currently studying for a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Sydney as part of the 2020-21 Composing Women Program. Lyon is currently Artist-in-Residence with Melbourne NFP More Than Opera, who will stage Lyon's first opera, Pieces of Margery, under the baton of Alan Cook, in 2023.  Collaborations and performances in 2022 are with Ensemble Offspring, Halcyon, and Syzygy Ensemble. Previously, Lyon's music has been performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Tasmania University Orchestra, National Capital Orchestra, Sydney Dance Company PPY with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows, Ensemble Goldentree, and Forest Collective. Lyon was a finalist for the Beleura Emerging Composer Award as part of 2019 The Melbourne Prize, participant in the 2017 Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program, and winner of the 2009 Adolf Spivakovsky Scholarship for Composition of Music.

Alisha Redmond (VIC)

Alisha Redmond (b.1991) is a composer, pianist, and teacher based in regional Victoria, Australia. Her compositional work is expressive and ethereal, often inspired by the lush surrounding bushland where she grew up in West Gippsland, Victoria. 

July 2022 saw the world premiere and Victorian tour of Regermination: Songs of Solace and Renewal in the Australian Landscape, a collection of expressive contemporary art songs composed for soprano and piano. Created and performed in collaboration with Ensemble Volante, the works explore a curious and joyful connection to the natural world, featuring dedications to some of Australia’s most iconic birdlife. As part of this project, Alisha will release a collection of solo piano arrangements from Regermination in October 2022, supported by Creative Victoria and Regional Arts Victoria.

Alisha has also composed music for various theatre and film projects, receiving the JMC Academy Martini Award for Best Musical Score for short film Knights of the Old Republic: Rescue Mission (2015), selected for the Berlin Sci-Fi Film Festival in 2018.

Alisha holds a double Bachelor of Music (Classical Piano) & Performing Arts from Monash University. Initially self-taught, she began studying composition under the mentorship of Ella Macens in 2020. A seasoned educator, she currently teaches Drama, Composition and Piano privately and at St. Paul’s Anglican Grammar School of Warragul, Victoria. 
www.alisharedmond.com

Kate Reid (NSW)

Kate is a pianist and composer living in Sydney. Her lifelong love of the theatre and poetry has influenced her compositional direction. Her compositions include works for film (Geese Mate for Life, To Market to Market, Child Lost on Goolumbulla) theatre (Brecht Workshop for Schools with STC, Pied Piper of Hamlin at Riverside Theatre Parramatta), and multimedia exhibitions (Four Sharps on a Flat Wall and an  Australian War Memorial commissioned piece for ANZAC travelling exhibition). Her chamber works have been performed and recorded in France and Korea (Eight Pieces for Piano, Sunday Afternoon, You-Hee Kim, violin and Dee Penicaut, piano, Evening in Bali for soprano and piano sung by Amy Blake with Dee Penicaut pianist). Her Five Etudes for Solo Piano were performed by Alexander Hazelbank and recorded in Melbourne 2020 at Move Records. Kate has worked in collaboration with Sydney based ensemble, Halcyon and was a featured composer in their 2020 concert, Holding Light. Recent chamber works include Ode to the Reef for flute and piano performed and recorded in Sydney by duo, Sidere. (2021) Her song cycle, Solander, was performed in Sydney 2022 by Sydney Chamber Choir with narrator, John Gaden AO and percussionist Claire Edwardes OAM under the direction of Sam Allchurch. Kate is represented as an Associate Composer by The Australian Music Centre. www.katereid.com.au

Read more from Halcyon’s artistic director - What’s so special about First Stones?

We asked some composers who took part in the original First Stones project to share some thoughts about it a decade on.

Nicole Murphy First Stones was an inspiring and eye-opening program, with the knowledge and connections gained proving to be long-lasting and impactful. The knowledge I gained about writing for voice has been immeasurably useful over the past decade, as I have embarked on a number of pieces for unaccompanied voice, chamber works with vocalists, and two chamber operas. The connections forged have resulted in further collaborations, including the War Letters project in 2015, and the current project for mezzo-soprano and cello. 

Owen Salome The experience was great for me and I have lots of really strong memories, but probably the most significant learning experience was when I gave you my 'final' draft of the score and it was (in hindsight) an unreadable handwritten mess. The cellist Geoffrey Gartner told me so, then very generously spent several hours with me revising the part and showing me how to express my ideas but in a way that was easy (easier) to perform. Ultimately I was really happy with the final composition, it turned out to be more or less exactly what I had intended, but the big lesson for me was about how to convey ideas cogently to performers.

Peggy Polias First Stones was very special in that Halcyon accommodated so many composers in the workshop program. We got some really detailed working knowledge of vocal-chamber writing not only from the workshops of our own pieces, but via dialogue with the performers around each others’ works. Jenny and Alison and all the instrumentalists were very welcoming and I still recall Elliott’s guidance on some very diverse ways that composers can approach text.

My strongest memory is that it was great to have such a range of composers and I really enjoyed the days spent with all of the composers in workshop.  I really enjoyed having lots of points of views in the room and lots of different types of music all being treated with such respect and consideration. It felt much more like a discussion of ideas, where everyone had a voice, everyone could speak up, than is sometimes the case for young composers, or in a classical context more generally. I remember the same openness and freedom in the wonderful selection of scores you had for us to look through. I found that really refreshing and emboldening. 

Chris Williams Looking back, I felt a real freedom to write and pursue things that I wanted to, rather than what I felt I should. I'd found undergraduate study quite stifling in terms of 'what was allowed', and First Stones really wiped that away. It felt very cathartic and restorative to me for that reason, and absolutely informed all of my work since.  To zoom in more specifically, I also remember 'meditating' on particular harmonies in that piece that have come to really fascinate me over the years in lots of different ways, and the thematic idea of the piece is still one that feels vital to me, and says something about the world that I think I always strive for in my work.